14. If the switch is already frozen, will it thaw the ice?
Ice Free Switch® is designed as an anti-icer instead of a de-icer. It will not generate heat like salts or chlorides and this is exactly why it is non-corrosive and non-conductive unlike the salts and chlorides. We supply a de-icing agent, Enviro-Mlt® which is used for this purpose.
An additional point about anti-icing and deicing, as mentioned above it requires up to 1 gallon of Ice Free Switch® to pre-treat a switch, a frozen switch may require 5-20 gallons to "thaw". Even though the de-icer is a lower per gallon price, it can be quite costly to thaw a frozen switch. Also, by using a high volume of a de-icer, it can remain in the ballast and sub-base to affect the freezing ability of the ground. When railcars pass this switch area they hit a "soft" sport and can cause future track damage.
Visit the Ice Free Switch® page for more information and product literature.
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